On October 5th 1864 more than five thousand American soldiers fought a brutal three and a half hour battle that would claim a third of them as casualties. Men from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa fought men from Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and North Carolina over an obscure mountain pass in North Georgia called Allatoona.

Minnesota, in the form of the 4th Minnesota Infantry Regiment, gave stellar service in the defense of the post losing 19 men killed and mortally wounded and considerably more wounded.

The battle of Allatoona is a testament to the tenacity, courage and perseverance of the American fighting man. The men who fought and died there deserve a monument.

Today the Etowah Valley Historical Society is instrumental in the preservation of this hallowed ground. The organization is making efforts to place a monument to the men of each state engaged in battle there. They have already placed monuments from Texas, Missouri and Mississippi and monuments for Iowa and Illinois are in the process of being procured. Conspicuously absent are monuments from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Etowah Valley Historical Society expects the cost per monument to be approximately $10,000 with any excess to be applied to the upkeep of the “Monument Park.” Each monument is a large marble slab cut into the shape of the state w/ a simple inscription memorializing the men who fought and died there.

Any donations are tax deductible as the Etowah Valley Historical Society is a not for profit organization.

It is hoped to raise these monies so that those Minnesota and Wisconsin men will never be forgotten.

Anyone who wants to contribute should contact me ia PM here, I suspect hotmail may be blocking some emails again. Any money in the forms of checks should be made out to the Etowah Valley Historical Society. They send out a nice thanks w/ the 501C3 bit. Every state that was there needs to have a monumnent North Carolina is missing as are several others.

Just as a few further tidbits of historical trivia regarding this battle.

Allatoona is often referred to as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War w/ 30% casualties in less than four hours... a little less than five casualties per minute.

No less than three women in the uniform of a soldier were found among the Confederate casualties. One was identified as a member of the 29th NC, another of the Missouri Brigade and the third woman was never identified in any way being buried beside her comrades.

Lt Colonel James Redfield was killed while fighting from a chair... he had been wounded twice in the leg before propping himself on a chair so he could continue the battle beside his men. The third wound was fatal.

Ten Confederate 12 Pound Napoleons & two 3" Ordnance Rifles expended their complete ordnance load(minus canister)which was approx one Cannon Ball, Bolt or shell impacting on the US position every minute for eight hours. At a range of approx 1500 yards they managed to do no appreciable damage to the largest US entrenchment, the Star Fort, and had little if any real effect upon the battle.

In contrast the six guns of the 12th Wisconsin Battery expended all of their ammunition and resorted to firing bags of brass buttons packed in sawdust at the enemy infantry. One Napoleon of the battery was double shotted w/ canister at every discharge, the repeated heavy recoil required the replacement of both wheels, the axle and severely damaged the stock rail. This particular gun was pulled from Rowetts Redoubt, the scene of the heaviest fighting, when it expended its initial ammunition load. It was manhandled a distance of approx 250 yards, uphill, under fire into the Star Fort where it would be resupplied and continue its deadly work in earnest until it fully expended its ammunition.

It has been estimated that roughly 600,000 rounds were fired. A little more than a thousand rounds per minute for the duration of the battle.

At one point a force of approx one hundred men made a charge, w/ the intent of setting fire to some warehouses. They suffered a casuaty rate of approx 60% from a single volley delivered from a range of greater than three hundred yards. They made no further attempt. Such accurate shooting was not well known in the Civil War and it was delivered by Union troops.

With tidbits like these is it any wonder that the men involved thought it the hardest fight of the war... and men who had been at places like Shiloh, Iuka, Corinth, Vicksburg campaign, Mission Ridge and the Atlanta campaign had something to measure it against.

Here are pictures of some of the monuments at Allatoona Pass. We are planning our annual Allatoona Pass Living History to be held on October 4-5, 2009, and even though we will not be dedicating any new monuments, rest assured that donations are still being accepted by the Etowah Valley Historical Society.

Holy cow! A (slightly) different Texas memorial! It's squatter than the usual one, tho it seems to be made of the same red granite and with a different Texas "seal" and it has a nice design on its face. I've been to about 20 ACW battlefields and the Texans' monument is very standard; this one is very nice!